Internet Journal of Criminology © 2010 www.internetjournalofcriminology.com 1 Capitalism and Crime: The Criminogenic Potential of the Free Market By Mark Horsley 1 Abstract This dissertation discusses the neo-liberal capitalist hegemony that exists in the Anglo-American nations and its implications for national crime rates. It elaborates upon the tendency of neo-liberal nations to have dramatically higher crime rates than nations governed by other ideologies. It discusses the problems associated with the widespread adoption of values like competitive individualism, the rise of consumer culture and other factors like rising social inequality. These problems are backed up by case studies of the USA, Japan and the Scandinavian Nations. It concludes that although neo-liberalism may not lead directly to higher crime rates some of its effects are hardly conducive to a peaceful society. Acknowledgements This dissertation was originally supervised by Professor Steve Hall (now at Teesside University) and benefited greatly from his advice and support. I’d also like to thank Don Crewe and Simon Winlow for encouraging me to submit old pieces of writing instead of leaving them sitting on a hard drive. 1 This is a first class undergraduate dissertation submitted in May 2006 for the Degree of BSc (Hons) Criminology, Division of Sociology and Criminology, Northumbria University (Awarded Final Mark of 78)